Summary

Mr C complains the Council failed to properly explain to him how his mother’s care home fees would be paid. As a result, the family chose a care home which, they later found out,
would be unaffordable once his mother’s capital has reduced to £23,250.

 

The Complaint

Mr C complained the Council took into account the value of his mother's property when making a financial assessment. This meant her assets and capital were above the threshold of £23,250 and so it did not offer his mother an affordable placement which did not need a top up. He also complained about the clarity of information given to him when choosing a home for his mother.

Decision

The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and found fault causing injustice.

Recommendations

In order to remedy the complaint, the Council has agreed to:

• apologise to Mr C, and his family, for the distress he is experiencing because he is worried his mother will be not be able to remain in the care home, once her capital has reduced;
• pay Mr C £300 for the time, trouble and distress the Council has caused him;
• inform the staff involved in needs and financial assessments of the correct approach with regard to people in similar situations;
• review the process it has in place, to ensure people receive the information they need (verbally and in writing), at the time they need it, to make informed decisions about finding an affordable care home;
• based on the review, ensure that staff involved in needs and financial assessments know what type of key information they need to provide (verbally and in writing), and at what stage, to enable people to make informed decisions about finding an affordable care home;
• remind staff involved in needs and financial assessments about the importance of keeping records that show what information they provide to clients about charging and when;
• review its policy on charging to ensure it contains sufficient detail about when the Council (should not) ask for a top-up; and
• review if there have been similar cases, in the last 12 months, where the Council has made the same errors, and ensure that any injustice arising from these will be remedied. The Council will need to produce a report for the Ombudsman that shows how it has carried out the review and summarises its findings.

Ombudsman satisfied with Council's response: 29 June 2018

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